The 40-year anniversary of the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition is expected to draw more than 6,000 industry professionals to sunny Fort Lauderdale, FL, Jan. 23-25, show officials told The Produce News. The 200,000-square-foot Broward County Convention Center exhibit hall will feature 400 companies and 800 booths showcasing lush tropical plants and foliage with palm trees soaring 28 feet to the exhibit hall ceiling.

Dan Waldschmidt, author of a leading sales blog, will speak at the show’s opening session (see schedule, page 72).

Yes! But it is already in the past. We experienced it in 2008-09. The floral industry has been on the road to fiscal responsibility for more than three years. We can and will not only survive in this environment, we will grow and prosper.

The Roman god Janus, for whom January is named, had two faces, one looking back, one looking forward. And that’s what we do in this January issue — look back and look ahead.

We feature reviews of the year and predictions for 2013 by guest columnists from key sectors of the floral industry, and from key floral associations. Our overview column is again by industry veteran Tom Lavagetto.

Azzule Systems, a leading provider of global data management solutions throughout all levels of the supply chain based in Santa Maria, CA, announced that Bruce Knobeloch has joined the company as senior vice president of business development.

Russell Boyd, a longtime produce veteran whose love of teaching and mentoring was well known to those who knew him, died suddenly Dec. 28 at his home in Fullerton, CA. He was 62.

One of Mr. Boyd's last public appearances was as a panelist at a salad bar conference hosted by the United Fresh Produce Association and the Fresh Produce & Floral Council in mid-December. The seminar appearance was apparently indicative of his produce career.

NoKota Packers Inc., located in Buxton, ND, has more than three decades of experience storing, washing and packaging tablestock potatoes for resale. “We at NoKota Packers harvested the tonnage we expected to and filled our storage completely,” said Steve Tweten, chief executive officer.